Belle woke up alone, as she always did after a night with her lover. Although she understood why he could not show her his true face, Belle still ached knowing that he had to hide part of himself away. She reached out to run her fingers over the empty space he had once occupied. Still warm. He could not have left very long ago. She covered her face with her pillow and cried out in frustration. She loved Adam deeply, but even now, after they had been together for longer than she could tell, it felt as though he was not yet truly hers.

More than that, she had begun to feel incredibly homesick. She lost track of how long it had been since she saw her father, brothers, and sisters. Belle often wondered what they were doing, how they were feeling, what they would think of the life she now led. She blushed imaging their reaction to learning that Adam was now her lover, even though she doubted they would ever find out. Here in the palace, their every physical need was met, but they were alone with no one but each other and Fiona's bitter curse for company.

A small light zipped into her bedchamber, the creature she now knew was Adam's other foster mother, Tiger Lily. Fiona had cursed her to remain in that form as way to make sure Adam felt more alone. Tiger Lily couldn't speak anymore, but she had developed ways of making her thoughts known.

"Good morning," Bella said, trying to hide her heavy thoughts from the fairy.

Tiger Lily hovered over her desk, indicting that she had a message. Belle dragged herself out of bed, threw a large blanket over her shoulders, and sat down at the desk. In front of her lay a sheet of paper with each letter of the alphabet written out. Belle grabbed another sheet of paper, her pen, and a well of ink. When Tiger Lily hovered a particular letter, Belle wrote it down until. Before she finished transcribing the full message, Belle felt herself grew anxious.

QUEEN COMING

FIONA FOLLOWING

That was the last thing Belle wanted to deal with, today or any other day. She would soon have to confront both Adam's mother and his tormentor. She certainly did not feel ready for the challenge.

"Have you told Adam?" Belle demanded.

Tiger Lily hovered over the letter "N".

"Why not? Do you want me to tell him?"

Tiger Lily moved over the letter "Y".

Belle shook her head. "You have known him a lot longer than I have. You should hear these kinds of things from you."

DIFFERENT NOW

YOU MUST TALK TO HIM

Belle scowled at the tiny fairy whose form illuminated her dim bedroom. The sun had only just risen over the horizon, but the Belle already felt tired again. She ran her fingers through her hair, pushing it out of her face.

"If that is what you think is best, I will talk to him," Belle relented.

Tiger Lily fluttered, and floated out of the window just as she had come in.

Belle rose from the desk and got ready for the day. As she put on her morning dress, she smiled to herself thinking how much her sisters would have liked to wear clothes like these. Her brother would have enjoyed hunting and fishing in the woods surrounding the castle. She missed them so much, she nearly cried just thinking of them. How was her father coping with her absence? Hopefully her siblings were keeping him company. He wasn't as young as he used to be, and Belle wanted to be sure he was being well cared for.

These gloomy thoughts did not dissipate as she walked into the library looking for Adam. Could there be some way that she could leave, even if just temporarily. She desperately wished to see her family again and see with her own eyes that they were fine. After wandering the rows and rows of bookshelf, Belle was a little surprised not to find Adam. He usually spent most of his time here.

Not too worried, Belle went looking for him in other parts of the castles. He wasn't in the gardens, the stables, or any of the baileys. Finally she spotted him standing atop one of the battlements, looking far into the distance. He was already in his beast form, as expected. Tall, hairy, and fearsome to look at. Belle knew she had nothing to fear from him. The sight of his beastliness had become familiar and unremarkable to her, even though it was completely at odds with the body she felt in her bed every night.

"Adam!" Belle called out to him, waving her arms so that she could see her. He turned at the noise. Though from that distance she could see his face clearly, she saw him saving back at her. Belle began to trek toward him, and he toward her, until they met each other on top of the gatehouse.

"What are you doing all the way over here?" Belle asked.

"I felt oddly unsettled last night, and I came up here to watch the sunrise hoping it would help me clear my mind."

Belle gave him a guilty smile, "I'm afraid I have some bad news. Your mother is coming to visit you soon, and Fiona will not be far behind her."

Adam's face tighten, his lower jaw shaking slightly. Belle could not blame him. His mother, Queen Josephine, still loved him in her own way, but she had not reacted well to his curse. When he was a child, she had been forced to leave him behind to protect their kingdom; now she looked for excuses to leave because she could not stand the sight of him. And Fiona had betrayed his trust in a painful way, then ruined his life because she felt slighted. The only mother figure who had not hurt Adam was Tiger Lily, who was trapped in the form of a ball of light so long as she remained in the castle. Despite her unfortunate state, she remained faithfully at Adam's side.

When he didn't reply, Belle started babbling, trying to fill the uncomfortable, "At least, that is what Tiger Lily thinks. She said I ought to speak to you. I know it was difficult for you to talk to me about what happened before, how you got like this, but apparently there's something else we need to get out of the way. I think I can guess why Fiona is here, she's still obsessed with you. I'm having a harder time understanding why your mother would come. She made her feelings rather clear when-"

"Belle," Adam interrupted. Her mouth slammed shut, and she looked up at him with sweet, anxious brown eyes. "Do you miss your family?"

"Was it that obvious?" Belle tilted her head.

"You've seemed rather distracted and distant lately. I know how much you love them, and I assume that's what has you so upset. You miss them."

"I do," Belle confessed. "I know I'm part of the curse now, and I have to stay, but I wish there was some way I could see them again."

Adam turned his eyes back to the forest that lay beyond the castles walls, as if just looking at her pained him. "I wonder what's the like, to have a family you're so close too that being apart from them is unbearable."

"Why would you wonder? You have Tiger Lily," Belle said lightly, hoping to pull him out of his dark mood somewhat.

"It's not the same," Adam sighed. "I told my mother about you, but I'm assuming Fiona knows as well. She won't be happy to see you here."

"It's not like I can leave," Belle muttered.

"This curse is Fiona's invention and she has complete control over it. If I...if I gave her what she wanted, maybe she would let you leave."

Belle looked horrified, "No, you don't have to give in to her for my sake. I can't live with myself if I knew I was the reason she won."

"I can't stand seeing you so unhappy," Adam looked back to her, anguished.

"I'll be even less happy if she gets her claws on you," Belle stated firmly. "I don't ever want her to hurt you again."

"I don't think there's anything either of us to do about that," Adam replied softly, sadly.


When Mary came home from her date with David, she felt like she was walking on air. The date went better than Mary had expected. She liked him so much more than she expected. They just seemed to fit together so well. Mary could honestly see herself settling down with him. It should have scared her how hard and quickly she fell for him, but somehow she couldn't bring herself to be too worried.

As Mary turned to the key in the lock to enter the apartment, she reminded herself not to be too rash about this new relationship. However much she and David like each other, it wasn't just the two of them. She had to think of Emma and the kids. Emma liked David well enough, so there was nothing to worry about on that front, but she did have to be concerned about how Ava and Nicky would react to him.

Oh god, Mary thought, startled by her own train of though. She was only coming back from the first date and she was already thinking about introducing him to her foster children! What was wrong with her? No, she had to take things slowly before she did some thing she regretted.

"Hey, you're back." Emma smiled at Mary from the kitchen.

"You didn't have to wait up!" Mary exclaimed.

"I didn't. I get held up at work." Emma shrugged. "So, your date..."

Mary felt blood rushing to her cheeks and she couldn't stop a huge grin from spreading across her face. "It went well."

"It seems like it when better than just well", Emma replied with a knowing look. She picked up a tupperware box that contained a large pastry. "Regina dropped off this apple turnover, but I don't really like apples. Do you want it?"

"I had plenty to eat on my date," Mary shrugged, "Save it for one of the kids. Wait, Regina gave it to you."

Emma walked over to the fridge and placed the box inside. "She said she wants to the bury the hatchet. She's willing to let me see Henry."

Mary looked distastefully at the fridge, "On second thought, you might want to make sure it's not poisoned. Or toss it in the trash."

Emma felt the urge to roll her eyes, but then a thought came to her. "Mr. Gold once told me he thought Regina was behind Priscilla's disappearance. He honestly seemed to think she was capable of murder."

"But Priscilla wasn't dead."

"We never found out how kidnapped her, or who placed the heart in the woods. The trail just went cold."

"Emma, do you think Regina did it?"

"I can't think of a reason she would." Emma admitted. "After Killian and Priscilla were caught trying to break into Gold's shop, she asked to come over to her house and talk."

"And?"

"She started talking about the curse again and I told her I didn't want to hear it. I haven't spoken to her since. I think she's really frustrated with me." Emma shook her head, "I'm sorry, you're probably tired from your date and I'm babbling about Regina and Priscilla. You should get some rest."

Mary sighed deeply, "Let's talk later. Are you picking up the kid's from Connor's house tomorrow?"

"Yeah, then I got to run some errands." Emma confirmed.

"Tomorrow afternoon then."